One of the biggest struggles going on in today’s dating culture is the battle between what the world tells you it wants you to do and what God wants. Let’s get into it!
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.” – Ephesians 5:6
In this verse, Paul is warning us to be careful of the deceptive practices of those who want to see us fall.
Here’s the harsh reality. The world does not like Christians. The world wants to see us fall. The world celebrates when we mess up. And while we refer to it as “the world”, these are real people who are in your life right now. This is not some far away threat that we just talk about hypothetically. People you interact with on a day to day basis do not want to see you succeed as a Christian. Instead, they want to pull you down to their level, either to revel in your destruction or so they don’t have to feel bad about what they inherently know is wrong.
Specifically, Paul is talking about “empty words”. These are the promises, the lies, and the coercive statements that people make to get you to think that engaging in certain sins is really not that bad. Unfortunately, our earthly brains and bodies are quite susceptible to these types of attacks. They’re often not these grandiose gestures that are easy to spot. They’re small conversations, little comments here and there, and well-articulated arguments to get us to change our ways.
Things like…”it’s really not that bad”…“well, if you look at it from this angle”…“the Bible was written so long ago, it doesn’t mean that now”… are just a few examples of the way some of these empty promises start.
How do you protect yourself? Be on guard for these attacks. If you want to read a great book that talks about the little steerings the enemy uses to push us drastically off course, we’d encourage you to check out The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It was written many years ago so a study guide may be helpful to get the references, but it’s a wonderful book that shows how the enemy doesn’t need to do big things to push us off course.
Second—spend time in God’s Word. The Scripture is one of the best ways to know what truly is right and what is just a made up empty promise from the world or a perversion of what is true.
Lastly—be courageous. Don’t just take what people tell you for what it is. Pray about it yourself. Get into the Word. If you can let the Holy Spirit guide you in making your decisions, you will be protected from these empty promises.
📝 Here’s Some Reflection Questions:
- What empty promises are people trying to sell you right now?
- Have there ever been any empty promises you’ve fallen for?
- If so, what changes can you make to correct that now?
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